BYU Falls To Stanford

The Cougs have just returned home from the NCAA Tournament, in Palo Alto, California. They headed out on Wednesday to Stanford after they heard they were scheduled to play UC Santa Barbara in the first round. They Cougs pulled off the victory against UCSB, 2 - 0, with an own goal, and a sick goal from Alyssa Vander Veur. They were set to face the number one seed in the nation, undefeated Stanford, in the second round. The Cougs had done everything to prepare for the game, and were excited to have a chance to upset the number one team in the nation. Stanford came out strong, and scored a goal in the first minute of the game. But, that was not enough to shake the Cougs, and they kept battling until the final minute of the game. Carlee Payne had a shot bounce off the cross bar in the first half, and Lauren Anderson had a shot that was on it's way in the goal, until a Stanford defender got a head on it. The girls played with so much effort and heart. They got off 15 shots, and it was only the third time all year that Stanford had given up double digit shots. The Cougar defense was awesome, Nicole Urry-Gilliam, Mercede Koning, Andrea Willis, Lindsi Lisonbee, Stacy Bartholomew, and McKinzie Olson, held Stanford to just 22 shots. The Cougs end the season at 18-4-2, and will graduate 5 seniors. Thank you seniors for all that you have done for the program, and for the legacy you have left behind, we will miss you!

Andrea Willis

Simone Seymore

Kelsea Kakadelas

Alyssa Vander Veur

Ashleigh Jameson

Cougs Battled Hard

The Cougs battled hard in a disappointing loss in Provo on Saturday afternoon. They were matched up against San Diego State for the championship game of the Mountain West Conference. They had beaten New Mexico, 1-0, earlier in the week to advance to the finals. The Cougs played hard, and had some good looks at the goal. San Diego had some looks as well, and they were able to knock one in at the 28 minute mark. The Cougs fought hard to the end, and were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. They had 3 girls named to the 2009-All-Conference Tournament Team, Kassidy Shumway, Carlee Payne, and Lindsi Lisonbee. The Cougs will now wait to see if they get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced Monday night.

The Cougs also had players recognized at the MWC banquet that was held before the tournament. Andrea Wills was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year, and Carlee Payne was named MWC Freshman of the Year. They also had 4 girls named to the 2009 All Mountain West Conference First Team, Andrea Willis, Kassidy Shumway, McKinzie Olson, and Carlee Payne. Lindsi Lisonbee was named to the 2009 All Mountain West Conference Second Team.

Good work Cougs, and make sure to check back to see if the girls have an at-large bid, and where they are headed!

Cougs Clinch MWC Regular Season

The Cougars secured their second regular season Mountain West Conference Championship. They knocked off Wyoming 2-0 yesterday, and will now head into the tournament next week as the number one seed. Carlee Payne, and Andrea Willis put two goals away to secure the win. The MWC Championships will be help in Provo, on South Field. The Cougs went 6-0-1 in the conference, with their only tie to San Diego State. They now have an overall record of 16-2-2, and are on a 14 game unbeaten, 6 game winning streak.

The girls also had a great time dressing up for Halloween, the costumes get more creative every year. Keep up the awesome work Cougs! Make sure and get your tickets to the MWC Championships, they start on November 4-7!

The Cougs Continue Their Quest For The Title

The Cougs just finished up a weekend at home. They were faced with two tough teams, New Mexico, and TCU. Kristi Dow-Jackson got her first goal, and put the Cougs up 1-0 against the Lobo's. Alyssa Vander Veur and Kelsea Kakadelas also netted goals and the Cougs went on to win 3-0. TCU put up a fight, and gave the girls a physical game. Lauren Anderson had her first goal of the season, and Carlee Payne put one away, and the Cougs won 2-0. The girls are headed to Colorado this weekend to take on Air Force. They remain undefeated in conference, and are 4-0-1.

Off the field, the girls continue to entertain themselves, and have a good time. They recently had a Harry Potter party, where they got all dressed up and danced the night away. Be sure to check out the Cougars when hey return home on October 31, 2009 at 1:00 PM, where they take on Wyoming.

Erin Galbraith

Some of the girls had the chance to go visit Erin with some good friends of ours, the Anderson's. The Anderson's soccer team, also known as the Cougars, are working on doing service for others. We were trying to get Erin to be a ball girl at one of our BYU Soccer games, but we had the chance to visit her in her home instead. Someone asked Erin what she wanted them to decorate her wheelchair with and she said soccer stuff. The soccer girls were all grateful to have the opportunity to spend a few minutes with the Galbraith family, and drop off some BYU Soccer stuff. It was an amazing experience, and I know the girls enjoyed spending time with Erin and her family. Here is Erin Hope's Story:

"On October 19, 2005 Erin Hope Galbraith was our normal, adorable, spunky little 4-year old angel who loved Disney princesses and hated broccoli. On October 20th, our world was changed when a large brain tumor that took up approximately two-thirds of her brain was discovered. After a 13-hour grueling surgery, the tumor was completely removed. During the following days her recovery was sensational and her spunkiness and innate ability to make all around her laugh returned. On October 28, 2005 the devastating news came that the tumor that was removed was malignant. Due to the highly aggressive and malignant nature of the tumor, the doctors had given Erin only a short time to live. "

If you want to read more you can check out http://www.hope4erin.com/

Thank you to the Anderson's and the mini Cougars for letting us come along and share in that experience. Thanks to the Galbraith family for having us over, and you could tell that Erin is an amazing girl. You are in our prayers!

Another Week On The Road

The Cougs just returned from another week on the road. They headed out to Pullman, Washington to play Washington State University. The Cougs started off strong, and struggled to hold onto to the lead. WSU scored in the last minute of the half to tie the game. WSU scored another goal in the 60th minute of the game. The Cougs had a few chances, Carlee Payne hit the post, Lauren Anderson and Jessica Ringwood both had a good look at the goal. WSU ended up beating the Cougs 2 - 1. The Cougs re-grouped, and they were matched up against Montana. Montana had a free kick early in the game, and they scored off a header. The Cougs battled back, and Carlee Payne took a shot that bounced off a Montana player and went in the goal to tie it all up. Jennie Marshall came into the game, and beat a few of the Montana girls, and put one away to come away with her 2nd game winner of the year.

The girls had a good time, and enjoyed spending endless hours on the bus, sleeping, watching movies, passing funny notes, and singing songs. The Cougs are headed to Chicago and Arizona next week. Look for the soccer team to be back in Provo on September 23, where they will take on Southern Utah University.

Two Big Games . . . Two Big Wins!

The Cougs recently returned from Penn State, where they had to chance to play 2 great teams. The were matched up against UConn, then West Virginia. Both games were a battle, and the Cougs fought to the end. Carlee Payne, a freshmen from Pleasanton, California, picked up both game winning goals. The first, against UConn was in the final 3 minutes of regulation, and she put away a header off a corner by Lauren Anderson. She then picked up her second goal of the season, and her second game winning goal of her career in the final minutes of the first overtime against West Virginia. The Cougs won the ball on their defensive end, and Kelsea Kakadelas had a great pass out, and Carlee just ran the entire field, beat their defense, and put it away to knock off a ranked team. The girls looked awesome, and they played great! Keep it up Cougs!

They also had a chance to do a fireside while they where in State College, and all the speakers did a great job. Even our awesome bus driver came and watched the fireside and said it was nice to see some good in the world. Good work girls!

The Cougs are playing their first home game, tomorrow night, September 4, 2009 at 7:OO PM. Make sure to come and check them out, they are playing William and Mary, and then playing Oklahoma State on Monday at noon! See you there!